What's Russia's endgame?

TacoMac

Well-Known Member
Is it to make us look like morons
We already do that without the aide of anybody else. In fact, we rule the world at it along with number of prisoners, number of guns, number of murders and most money spent on military. It's the only things we lead the world in.

Or is it to ultimately gain control of our government?
They already are. By creating absolute dysfunction, they have in fact taken control of it and effectively shut it down completely. To wit: not one single thing has been accomplished since Trump took office. Not one.

I dont think Russia could successfully run a shadow government here.
Again, in effect, they already do.

Too transparently corrupt.
As corrupt as our government presently is, you'd be amazed at how much more corrupt the Russian government is. It makes ours look like the Boy Scouts.

Oh wait we voted Trump in. Damn!
No, WE didn't. The electoral college did. The people voted Clinton in.

But then that goes back to the transparent corruption, doesn't it?
 

abandonconflict

Well-Known Member
I remember one particular day when I was in the Dominican Republic on a diving boat. I was teaching an advanced open water course in English and at the same time, one of our local divemasters was guiding a group of Spanish speakers so it was a full boat. One of the Spanish speaking divers, a guy name Vlad who looked like he was about 55 to 60 years old, noticed the small tattoo on my back which referenced the unit I served with in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2002-2004 by the unit crest (flaming sword) and motto "Strike Hold". He started asking me in English with a perfect New York accent about my service. As I answered each question, he revealed his in-depth knowledge. When I answered when I deployed, he revealed that he knew the name of my commander during that time and even knew that I had fought in Operation Mongoose in Afghanistan and in Fallujah in Iraq. He knew the names of some of our casualties. He expressed some admiration of the sort an old paratrooper would towards a young one.

After the first dive, during the surface interval, I started to ask about his service, assuming he had also been an airborne infantryman or some similar vocation. He started to vaguely describe his experience in Afghanistan and at first, it sounded like he must have been a contractor or private spec ops type. The more I listened the more obvious it became he wasn't describing a deployment with US forces. He was describing service long before 2001. I figured he was crazy and went back to my students to brief them for our next dive. While in the water, I noticed that he was an excellent diver with perfect form and trim in the water and outstanding buoyancy skills, the sort one would have if they were a technical or even military diver. I even checked his tank after the dive and found he had consumed less than 100 bar (less than half a tank) on a dive where most divers would have struggled to make a full tank last.

On the way back to Bayahibe, the boat ride was choppy but most of the divers were still excited about all the things they saw in the water. I was a bit troubled as it was obvious this guy was toying with me. So I asked him directly, which unit he had served with and about his mos and rank. He very matter-of-factly stated that he had served with the 22nd Spetsnaz brigade. The smirk on his face revealed his satisfaction at having completely unnerved a young combat vet by knowing enough about our unit to even impersonate one of us. He was very polite and respectful, even thanking me for my service. He said it was good our countries never went to war.

I never saw the guy again after that day, but I have always wondered if we have the mettle to really take those guys. I have spent so much time thinking about it that I don't even know if he was there for some other reason. Maybe fucking with my head was reward enough and he was just there to enjoy the Caribbean diving. How many other Spetsnaz commandos are out there with the knowledge and ability to impersonate our commanders? I doubt even the best among our intelligence assets and agents could match this. This wasn't just an old guy pulling my chain, he had a Russian passport and from what my boss said, he spoke Russian and even wrote Cyrillic. He was also huge. Not covered in well defined muscles but just naturally, genetically huge. He looked Russian.

We might have a big powerful navy, but man to man, army to army, we better take them very seriously.
 

Lucky Luke

Well-Known Member
I remember one particular day when I was in the Dominican Republic on a diving boat. I was teaching an advanced open water course in English and at the same time, one of our local divemasters was guiding a group of Spanish speakers so it was a full boat. One of the Spanish speaking divers, a guy name Vlad who looked like he was about 55 to 60 years old, noticed the small tattoo on my back which referenced the unit I served with in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2002-2004 by the unit crest (flaming sword) and motto "Strike Hold". He started asking me in English with a perfect New York accent about my service. As I answered each question, he revealed his in-depth knowledge. When I answered when I deployed, he revealed that he knew the name of my commander during that time and even knew that I had fought in Operation Mongoose in Afghanistan and in Fallujah in Iraq. He knew the names of some of our casualties. He expressed some admiration of the sort an old paratrooper would towards a young one.

After the first dive, during the surface interval, I started to ask about his service, assuming he had also been an airborne infantryman or some similar vocation. He started to vaguely describe his experience in Afghanistan and at first, it sounded like he must have been a contractor or private spec ops type. The more I listened the more obvious it became he wasn't describing a deployment with US forces. He was describing service long before 2001. I figured he was crazy and went back to my students to brief them for our next dive. While in the water, I noticed that he was an excellent diver with perfect form and trim in the water and outstanding buoyancy skills, the sort one would have if they were a technical or even military diver. I even checked his tank after the dive and found he had consumed less than 100 bar (less than half a tank) on a dive where most divers would have struggled to make a full tank last.

On the way back to Bayahibe, the boat ride was choppy but most of the divers were still excited about all the things they saw in the water. I was a bit troubled as it was obvious this guy was toying with me. So I asked him directly, which unit he had served with and about his mos and rank. He very matter-of-factly stated that he had served with the 22nd Spetsnaz brigade. The smirk on his face revealed his satisfaction at having completely unnerved a young combat vet by knowing enough about our unit to even impersonate one of us. He was very polite and respectful, even thanking me for my service. He said it was good our countries never went to war.

I never saw the guy again after that day, but I have always wondered if we have the mettle to really take those guys. I have spent so much time thinking about it that I don't even know if he was there for some other reason. Maybe fucking with my head was reward enough and he was just there to enjoy the Caribbean diving. How many other Spetsnaz commandos are out there with the knowledge and ability to impersonate our commanders? I doubt even the best among our intelligence assets and agents could match this. This wasn't just an old guy pulling my chain, he had a Russian passport and from what my boss said, he spoke Russian and even wrote Cyrillic. He was also huge. Not covered in well defined muscles but just naturally, genetically huge. He looked Russian.

We might have a big powerful navy, but man to man, army to army, we better take them very seriously.
Great story, thanks for sharing.

yes man to man the Russians have always been formidable. They lack nearly all the behind the scenes stuff though.
 

abandonconflict

Well-Known Member
Great story, thanks for sharing.

yes man to man the Russians have always been formidable. They lack nearly all the behind the scenes stuff though.
Well I wouldn't dismiss their combat support so hastily either. They have the ability to infiltrate and get behind lines but even under siege, they have a proven history of withstanding overwhelming assault. We'd never be able to go over and topple them militarily the way we have smaller countries by deploying large forces. Hell that strategy nearly bankrupted us more than once and didn't work against Vietnamese farmers at all. If the Russians ever decide to enter a battlefield where we are otherwise engaged, I think we'd have a real fight on our hands, especially if they can supply themselves by ground. I do agree that our logistical capabilities are superior though.
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Well I wouldn't dismiss their combat support so hastily either. They have the ability to infiltrate and get behind lines but even under siege, they have a proven history of withstanding overwhelming assault. We'd never be able to go over and topple them militarily the way we have smaller countries by deploying large forces. Hell that strategy nearly bankrupted us more than once and didn't work against Vietnamese farmers at all. If the Russians ever decide to enter a battlefield where we are otherwise engaged, I think we'd have a real fight on our hands, especially if they can supply themselves by ground. I do agree that our logistical capabilities are superior though.
You mean, like Syria?
 

dagwood45431

Well-Known Member
I remember one particular day when I was in the Dominican Republic on a diving boat. I was teaching an advanced open water course in English and at the same time, one of our local divemasters was guiding a group of Spanish speakers so it was a full boat. One of the Spanish speaking divers, a guy name Vlad who looked like he was about 55 to 60 years old, noticed the small tattoo on my back which referenced the unit I served with in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2002-2004 by the unit crest (flaming sword) and motto "Strike Hold". He started asking me in English with a perfect New York accent about my service. As I answered each question, he revealed his in-depth knowledge. When I answered when I deployed, he revealed that he knew the name of my commander during that time and even knew that I had fought in Operation Mongoose in Afghanistan and in Fallujah in Iraq. He knew the names of some of our casualties. He expressed some admiration of the sort an old paratrooper would towards a young one.

After the first dive, during the surface interval, I started to ask about his service, assuming he had also been an airborne infantryman or some similar vocation. He started to vaguely describe his experience in Afghanistan and at first, it sounded like he must have been a contractor or private spec ops type. The more I listened the more obvious it became he wasn't describing a deployment with US forces. He was describing service long before 2001. I figured he was crazy and went back to my students to brief them for our next dive. While in the water, I noticed that he was an excellent diver with perfect form and trim in the water and outstanding buoyancy skills, the sort one would have if they were a technical or even military diver. I even checked his tank after the dive and found he had consumed less than 100 bar (less than half a tank) on a dive where most divers would have struggled to make a full tank last.

On the way back to Bayahibe, the boat ride was choppy but most of the divers were still excited about all the things they saw in the water. I was a bit troubled as it was obvious this guy was toying with me. So I asked him directly, which unit he had served with and about his mos and rank. He very matter-of-factly stated that he had served with the 22nd Spetsnaz brigade. The smirk on his face revealed his satisfaction at having completely unnerved a young combat vet by knowing enough about our unit to even impersonate one of us. He was very polite and respectful, even thanking me for my service. He said it was good our countries never went to war.

I never saw the guy again after that day, but I have always wondered if we have the mettle to really take those guys. I have spent so much time thinking about it that I don't even know if he was there for some other reason. Maybe fucking with my head was reward enough and he was just there to enjoy the Caribbean diving. How many other Spetsnaz commandos are out there with the knowledge and ability to impersonate our commanders? I doubt even the best among our intelligence assets and agents could match this. This wasn't just an old guy pulling my chain, he had a Russian passport and from what my boss said, he spoke Russian and even wrote Cyrillic. He was also huge. Not covered in well defined muscles but just naturally, genetically huge. He looked Russian.

We might have a big powerful navy, but man to man, army to army, we better take them very seriously.
Should have cut his throat with your diving knife. JK.
 
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